The essentials
Alabama, at a glance
Yes, for qualifying non-TCS foods made in your primary home kitchen and sold directly to Alabama consumers.
Complete approved food-safety training and submit the county review paperwork before starting. The cottage route does not require the county food-service permit, and the old annual revenue ceiling has been removed. Product and label conditions still apply.
- Sales limits
The old annual income limit was removed; there is no current cottage-food revenue ceiling in the amended law.
- Registration & permits
A qualifying cottage operation is not a food-service establishment and needs no county health-department food-service permit.
View official sources (4)
- Alabama Rule 420-3-22-.01 — General Provisions Alabama Legislative Services Agency
- Cottage Food Alabama Department of Public Health
- Review Form for Cottage Foods Producer Alabama Department of Public Health
- SB160 enrolled act amending §22-20-5.1 Alabama Legislature
One step at a time
Your first 2 steps
Prepare the county review packet
Gather the Cottage Foods Producer Review Form, a copy of your current training certificate and a sample product label.
The form also asks for process-authority pH or water-activity verification where applicable. List what you intend to produce so the county can review your actual menu instead of a generic description such as baked goods.
Check training, fees and expiry
Choose a food-safety course approved by the health department, then keep its certification current.
ADPH says you must retake training when the certificate expires. Ask your county about its review fee because there is no single statewide county charge. Record the certificate expiration and the county’s instructions with your application copy.
View official sources (3)
- Cottage Food Alabama Department of Public Health
- Review Form for Cottage Foods Producer Alabama Department of Public Health
- SB160 enrolled act amending §22-20-5.1 Alabama Legislature
Make what you love
Can you sell what you make?
These are examples. Check the complete recipe, preparation method and sales route before offering a product.
Bread, dry mixes and coffee
Check the conditionsQualifying breads, cookies, candy, dried herbs, dried baking mixes and roasted coffee fit the categories in Alabama’s law.
The finished product must still avoid time or temperature control for safety. Assess the full recipe, including frosting or filling, before treating a familiar baked-good name as proof that every version is eligible.
Meat and refrigerated desserts
Check the conditionsMeat, poultry and fish are specifically outside the cottage-food definition.
Drying meat or baking it into another food does not remove that exclusion. A dessert needing refrigeration for safety also falls outside the non-TCS route. Choose a permitted production model before selling products that cannot meet these cottage-food conditions.
Pickles and salsa require verification
Check the conditionsFermented or preserved produce must meet the department’s acidity criteria.
ADPH requires verification from a processing authority or Alabama Cooperative Extension before sale. Your own meter readings do not replace that initial step. After verification, routine checks can help you keep the process consistent, but the reviewed recipe and conditions remain the starting point.
View official sources (3)
- Cottage Food Alabama Department of Public Health
- SB160 enrolled act amending §22-20-5.1 Alabama Legislature
- Manufactured Food Processing Alabama Department of Public Health
From your kitchen to your customers
Where and how you can sell
| Selling method | What matters |
|---|---|
| Online orders and in-state delivery | Alabama allows direct sales by phone and online as well as in person. Delivery can be made by you, an agent acting for you, or by mail, provided the consumer is in Alabama. Build your ordering system around that destination restriction and make sure products retain their required labels when an agent handles the delivery. |
| Markets and your own selling space | ADPH describes direct sales from venues that are not health-department-permitted food establishments, including certain tents, booths, carts and storefronts. The food must still be produced at home and sold directly to the consumer. For a state-sanctioned farmers market, check the Farmers Market Authority’s requirements as well as the cottage review. |
| Restaurants and consignment | A restaurant cannot buy your cottage food to serve as its own permitted food operation, and a retail store cannot sell it on consignment under this direct-sale route. A delivery agent carrying your completed order is different from a shop reselling your inventory. If wholesale is the goal, ADPH identifies commercial manufacturing as a separate route. |
View official sources (5)
- Alabama Rule 420-3-22-.01 — General Provisions Alabama Legislative Services Agency
- Cottage Food Alabama Department of Public Health
- Review Form for Cottage Foods Producer Alabama Department of Public Health
- SB160 enrolled act amending §22-20-5.1 Alabama Legislature
- Manufactured Food Processing Alabama Department of Public Health
Your label, explained
Every field has a purpose.
Use the example to understand the structure. Follow the Alabama requirements below for your product and sales route.
Your product
name
Your product name and actual net quantity
Your complete recipe and supplier ingredients
Operation name; home or PO-box address
The statement for your state, product and sales route
County-reviewed cottage labels; example notice wording
A guide to the fields, not a ready-to-print label. Use your actual product and business details.
Name it. Measure it.
Identify your product and its actual net quantity. Check the state’s formatting and unit requirements below.
Use your actual recipe.
Check every ingredient and supplier label. Use the applicable ingredient and allergen declarations for your product.
Identify your operation.
Operation name; home or PO-box address
Use the wording for your route.
Requirements can differ by product and sales channel. Keep the disclosure, placement and type-size conditions together.
Noninspection and allergen notices
The review form uses “Products are not inspected by the Health Department” and requires a disclaimer that the food may contain allergens.
A clear companion sentence is “This food may contain allergens.” Submit your wording for county review. The rule describes the required messages rather than prescribing one combined verbatim sentence, and the listed label information must be at least 10-point type.
Example scope: Companion allergen sentence is an illustrative formulation of the required message, not an exclusive statutory quotation.
Your home address is not the only option
Alabama expressly accepts the home or PO-box address of the cottage operation on its label.
Include the operation name and the address you use; a QR code or social-media page cannot substitute for them. The county review form separately asks for your physical production address, so label privacy does not remove that agency disclosure.
Product name and ingredient list
Label each item with its common or usual name and the ingredients in descending order of predominance.
Keep those details, the operation identity and required notices at least 10-point type. When changing suppliers or reformulating a recipe, compare the ingredients against the label before using your remaining printed stock.
Example scope: Checking supplier changes is a practical maintenance recommendation.
The wording for your label
County-reviewed cottage labels; example notice wording
View official sources (3)
- Alabama Rule 420-3-22-.01 — General Provisions Alabama Legislative Services Agency
- Cottage Food Alabama Department of Public Health
- Review Form for Cottage Foods Producer Alabama Department of Public Health
A useful head start
Your Alabama label kit.
Editable template, example label and starting checklist.
Personalize it for your products and business.
Enter your email. Get the files immediately.
Before your first sale
A few details worth getting right.
An example
A customer orders from another state
An Alabama cottage sale requires the receiving consumer to be in Alabama.
Do not use the in-state mailing permission to fulfill an out-of-state shipment. Before offering interstate distribution, ask ADPH about the manufactured-food route and its premises requirements; a private home cannot simply obtain the commercial manufacturing permit.
An example
Adding freeze-dried fruit
Before listing freeze-dried fruit or vegetables, arrange the water-activity verification ADPH requires and include the applicable documentation in the county review packet.
The drying process name alone is not sufficient. Keep the tested product details with the recipe so changing thickness, ingredients or processing does not silently change the product you submitted.
Example scope: Maintaining tested process details is recommended; no unsupported universal retesting schedule is asserted.
No income cap does not remove product rules
Alabama removed its old cottage-food annual revenue limit.
That makes the size of your sales different from eligibility: even a small batch of an excluded product remains outside the program. As demand grows, continue checking the home-production requirement and direct-consumer sales model rather than focusing only on turnover.
View official sources (4)
- Cottage Food Alabama Department of Public Health
- Review Form for Cottage Foods Producer Alabama Department of Public Health
- SB160 enrolled act amending §22-20-5.1 Alabama Legislature
- Manufactured Food Processing Alabama Department of Public Health
A few more answers
Common questions
Will the county inspect the kitchen during review?
ADPH describes the startup review as review of your food-safety certificate and product labels, rather than a home-kitchen inspection. That does not eliminate the department’s authority to issue stop-sale, seizure or hold orders when food is suspected of causing illness. Keep your review records available and address concerns promptly.
View sources for this answer (3)
- Cottage Food Alabama Department of Public Health
- Review Form for Cottage Foods Producer Alabama Department of Public Health
- SB160 enrolled act amending §22-20-5.1 Alabama Legislature
Does the county review replace a business license?
ADPH says the county can provide written confirmation that your certificate and labels were reviewed for use when obtaining a business license. Treat those as separate steps. Ask the relevant local office which general business requirements apply at your address and selling venue before you commit to a regular pickup schedule.
Example scope: Checking local general-business requirements is a recommendation; no statewide local fee or permit is invented.
View sources for this answer (1)
- Cottage Food Alabama Department of Public Health
Keep it handy
Your first-sale checklist
Use this free checklist to keep track of your next steps. The conditions in this guide still apply.
0 of 2 completed · Restoring progress…
Official guidance
Sources, updates & your next step
Start with your county health department
Use ADPH’s Cottage Food page and current review form to prepare your submission. Bring the actual recipe and proposed label, and ask about review fees or verification for preserved and freeze-dried products. For a move, new selling arrangement or changed menu, retain the county’s current instructions with the version of the label they reviewed.
Official sources 5 references
- Alabama Rule 420-3-22-.01 — General Provisions →
Alabama Legislative Services Agency · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Cottage Food →
Alabama Department of Public Health · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Review Form for Cottage Foods Producer →
Alabama Department of Public Health · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- SB160 enrolled act amending §22-20-5.1 →
Alabama Legislature · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Manufactured Food Processing →
Alabama Department of Public Health · Reviewed September 14, 2026
Guide updates September 14, 2026
Reviewed Alabama’s product eligibility, sales routes, starting requirements and label guidance against the official sources below. Current conditions and any dated changes are explained in the relevant sections of this guide.
View sources for this update (3)
- Alabama Rule 420-3-22-.01 — General Provisions Alabama Legislative Services Agency
- Cottage Food Alabama Department of Public Health
- SB160 enrolled act amending §22-20-5.1 Alabama Legislature
This guide is a starting point. Confirm requirements for your products and location with the relevant authority. Examples are illustrative and are not a compliance approval.